Maine mural litigation to go into June

The Associated Press •May 15, 2011 9:37 am

AUGUSTA, Maine — Litigation over Gov. Paul LePage’s order to remove a mural depicting a labor theme from state offices will continue to at least mid-June.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say they held a conference May 3 with U.S. District Judge Woodcock and state attorneys to determine the next steps in the lawsuit. The suit was filed April 1 and seeks to compel LePage to return mural to the Maine Department of Labor.

Woodcock in April denied a request for an order to have the governor immediately return the mural.

The plaintiffs agreed to provide a proposed stipulation of undisputed facts by May 24, and responses will be filed after that. The state will file a motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss the case by June 17.